Girls Lakes and Rockford East Tournament Recap from 11/25

By Gary Larsen

Lakes Sandy Gussarson Invitational

Phoenix Military Academy of Chicago launched its program with a handful of girls that were young but tough.

Those girls have come a long way.

“This is a scrappy team, founded by four sophomores and a tough freshman last year,” Firebirds coach Daniel Curtin said. “Those girls have moved into a leadership role and drafted an entire team of tough freshmen and sophomores. It’s a homegrown operation.”

With six wrestlers finishing in the top four of their weight classes, the school of roughly 550 students won this year’s 25-team Sandy Gussarson Invitational, edging out second-place Lincoln-Way Central, 295-276.
Host Lakes (251) placed third, followed by Oak Forest (249), and Lake Park (239.5) in rounding out the top five team finishes.

“Today was a David versus twenty-four Goliaths moment,” Curtin said. I can’t tell you how impressed by and proud of this team I am. And they are all back next year.”

The Firebirds were led on the awards stand by second-place individual finishers Marisol Castro-Duran (120) and AJ Grant (155). Curtin got thirds from Diana Lopez (120) and America Cabrerra (170), fourths from Jocelyn Quiroz (135) and Giselle Villareal (140), and a seventh from Miles Gonzalez (100).

Second-place Lincoln-Way Central’s Gracie Guarino (120) was a state runner-up at 110 last year and won an individual title to lead the Knights, who also got fourths from Yasmine Ejaidi (125), Riley Cooney (130), and Elia Giertuga (145), a fifth from Monica Alvares (100), and a sixth from Elia Downing (115).
Third-place host Lakes led the field with four individual champions in Zaryia Mouzon (105), Haven Sylves (115), Olivia Heft (125), and Josephine Larson (235).

Dundee-Crown’s Diamond Rodriguez won the individual title at 100 pounds and finished as the wrestler with the most pins in the least amount of time. Rodriguez had five pins in a combined total of 1:30 spent on the mat, and she tied with individual champ Isabel Peralta (190) of Oak Forest for the most team points scored by any wrestler, with 52. The 56 match points scored by Phoenix’s Diana Lopez (120) led the field, followed by the 55 match points scored by individual champion Ruby Gavina (130) of Dundee-Crown. Lopez also posted the fastest tech fall time of 1:54

Also notable: the largest seed-place difference provided came from Grayslake North’s Jacqueline Cordova-Marquina. Cordova-Marquina was seed No. 21 and finished fourth at 155 pounds.

Other champions included a state runner-up last year in Oak Forest’s Alexandra Sebek (110), Oak Forest’s Iyobosa Odiase (140), a state champion last year at 125 in Freeport’s Cadence Diduch (135), Harvard’s Ithandehui Rosas (145), Hinsdale South’s Callie Carr (155), and Burlington Central’s Ryann Miller (170).
Second-place finishers included Shepard’s Danialla Almazan (100), Wilmont-Union’s Greta Rzonca (105), Dundee-Crown’s Iris Torres (110), Burlington Central’s Ruby Vences (115), Lake Park’s Valeria Malinowski (130) and Christina Hasner (140), Prospect’s Viola Pianetto (135), Rolling Meadows’ Muneeba Butt (145), Grant’s Riley O’Grady (170), Grayslake North’s Jeniah Robinson (190), and Oak Forest’s Jessica Komolafe (235).

Also placing third at Lakes were Freeport’s Aurielle Calmese (100), Shepard’s Sofia Perez (105) and Stacey Massey (135), Harvard’s Alexa Herrera (110), Hillcrest’s India Long (115), Peotone’s Shannon Bennett (125), Woodstock’s Danica LaTessa (130), Oak Forest’s Madelyn Sears (140), Oswego’s Makayla Hill (145), Burlington Central’s Jada Hall (155), Rolling Meadows’ Leilani Brindis (190), and Prospect’s Vivian Kowalczyk (235).

Fourth-placers included Oak Forest’s Aliyah Blount (100), Dundee-Crown’s Leslie Figueroa (105), Lake Park’s Laurie Cando (110), Lakes’ Osmari Medina (115), Grant’s Myla Reyes (120), Lincoln-Way Central’s Yasmine Ejaidi (125), Riley Cooney (130), and Ella Giertuga (145), Grayslake North’s Jacqueline Cordova-Marquina (155), Rolling Meadows’ Janet Brindis (170), and Shepard’s Breanna Robinson (190) and Quadalupe Arreola (235).

Lakes Sandy Gussarson Invitational championship matches:

100: Diamond Rodriguez (Dundee-Crown) F 0:10 Danialla Almazan (Shepard)
105: Zaryia Mouzon (Lakes) F 2:15 Greta Rzonca (Wilmont-Union)
110: Alexandra Sebek (Oak Forest) F 3:17 Iris Torres (Dundee-Crown)
115: Haven Sylves (Lakes) D 14-8 Ruby Vences (Burlington Central)
120: Gracie Guarino (Lincoln-Way C) F 1:17 Marisol Castro-Duran (Phoenix)
125: Olivia Heft (Lakes) F 3:47 Mia Thomas (Phoenix)
130: Ruby Gavina (Dundee-Crown) F 5:55 Valeria Malinowski (Lake Park)
135: Cadence Diduch (Freeport) F 1:28 Viola Pianetto (Prospect)
140: Iyobosa Odiase (Oak Forest) F 1:07 Christina Hasner (Lakes)
145: Ithandehu Rosas (Harvard) F 1:25 Muneeba Butt (Rolling Meadows)
155: Callie Carr (Hinsdale S) D 7-6 AJ Grant (Phoenix)
170: Ryann Miller (Burlington Central) F 0:25 Riley O’Grady (Grant)
190: Isabella Peralta (Oak Forest) F 3:51 Jeniah Robinson (Grayslake N)
235: Josephine Larson (Lakes) F 1:22 Jessica Komolafe (Oak Forest)

Rockford East Girls Invitational

Geneseo took top honors at this year’s 22-team Rockford East Girls Invitational on Saturday, out-pointing second-place Wheeling 142-106. Richmond-Burton (99) placed third, followed by Palatine (73) and Thornton (72) to round out the top five team finishes.

Geneseo coach Carley Rusk got an individual title from Molly Snyder at 105 to lead the Maple Leafs, while Grace Schilling (135), Reagan Bopes (140), and Gia Ritter (145) all reached the title mat and placed second.

Snyder also posted four pins in 4:48 to lead the entire field in the most pins in the least amount of time.
Geneseo got thirds from Lydia King (125) and Bella Curcuru (130), and fourths from Emily Bopes (130) and Brooke Shollenderger (145) to help lead the way.

Second-place Wheeling got an individual title from Jasmine Rene (190), who placed fourth in Illinois at 190 last year. Wheeling also got seconds from Elise Burkut (130) and Madeline Chicas (170), and thirds from Isabella Gomez (115) and Valeria Avalos (140).

Third-place Richmond-Burton was led by individual champ Jasmine McCaskel (145), who placed fourth in state at 145 last season.

Other individual champs in Rockford included a pair of returning state champions in Glenbard North’s Gabby Gomez (115) and Boylan’s Netavia Wickson (140). Gomez won the state crown at 115 last year and Wickson won her title at 135.

Gomez’s three tech fall wins in 11:25 were the most tech falls in the least time by any wrestler in the field; her 31 points in a single match also led the field; and her 88 total match points were the most scored, followed by Wickson with 50 match points scored. Wickson also posted the quickest tech fall time at 2:00.
Fremd’s Lloyd Kowalczyk (135) scored 30 team points to lead all wrestlers present, and Rockford East’s Gisselle Garcia posted the largest seed-place difference. Garcia placed fourth at 155 after being seeded 15th in the field.

Other individual champions in Rockford were Crystal Lake South’s Annalee Aarseth (110), Sandwich’s Ashlyn Strenz (120), Thornton’s Destiny Bright (125) and Jalah Wilson (130),, Rochelle’s Dempsey Atkinson (155), Palatine’s Sabrina Cargill (170), and Harlem’s Savannah Schutt (235).

Individuals placing second included Sandwich’s Norah Vick (105), Richmond-Burton’s Isabella Nelson (110) and Julienna Beese (155), Geneva’s Rebecca DiSilvestro (115), Grayslake Central’s Gianna Arzer (120), Rochelle’s Cammyla Macias (125), Crystal Lake South’s Kayla Hodfield (190), and Thornton’s Sionna Stampley.

Finishing third in Rockford were Geneva’s Kayla Hassell (105) and Delaney Cunningham (120), LaSalle-Peru’s Sarah Lowery (110), Fremd’s Kandice Wallace (135), Palatine’s Karimot Lawal (145) and Jazz Ocampo (190), Riverside-Brookfield’s Estefany Bejarano (155), Richmond-Burton’s Sandra Teren Reyes, and Jefferson’s Kylie Eilken (235).

Placing fourth were Wheeling’s Yazmine Gomez (105) and Jocelyn Juarez (120), Rockford East’s Tha Ru (110), Richmond-Burton’s Savannah Wells (115) and Alana Echevarria (125), Rochelle’s Paris Washington (135), Prairie Ridge’s Angela Thrush (140), Palatine’s Angela Escalera (170) and Aiva Wikar (190), and Glenbard North’s Malachi Evans (235)

Rockford East Girls Invitational championship matches:

105: Molly Snyder (Geneseo) F 1:47 Norah Vick (Sandwich)
110: Annalee Aarseth (CL South) D 7-0 Isabella Nelson (R-Burton)
115: Gabby Gomez (Glenbard N) TF 4:17 Rebecca DiSilvestro (Geneva)
120: Ashlyn Strenz (Sandwich) F 5:47 Gianna Arzer (Grayslake C)
125: Destiny Bright (Thornton) F 1:24 Cammyla Macias (Rochelle)
130: Jalah Wilson (Thornton) D 14-7 Elise Burkut (Wheeling)
135: Lloyd Kowalczyk (Fremd) F 3:08 Grace Schilling (Geneseo)
140: Netavia Wickson (Boylan) F 1:31 Reagan Bopes (Geneseo)
145: Jasmine McCaskel (R-Burton) F 3:33 Gia Ritter (Geneseo)
155: Dempsey Atkinson (Rochelle) F 0:57 Julienna Beese (R-Burton)
170: Sabrina Cargill (Palatine) F 1:43 Madeline Chicas (Wheeling)
190: Jasmine Rene (Wheeling) D 8-2 Kayla Hodfield (CL South)
235: Savannah Schutt (Harlem) F 1:09 Sionna Stampley (Thornton)